This invention relates to women's support garments in general and more particularly to a therapeutic brassiere or bra for use particularly during a women's premenstrual period.
During premenstrual syndrome, pregnancy and the post-partum period, most women suffer the discomforts of swelling and tenderness of the breasts and surrounding tissues due to fluid retention or lactation. A brassiere or bra capable of providing a gentle and even support of the breast tissues can help relieve these discomforts to a great extent. However, most bras tend to cut or provide an uneven pressure on delicate tissue and can cause additional discomfort. Many times doctors will recommend the application of heat to sooth the patient and relieve tenderness. The problem, however, is that most heating pads do not fit well around the breasts and so provide only partial relief. Moreover, the heating pads limit movement of the patient to the length of the electrical cords.
A number of therapeutic wraps or pads employing hot or cold media are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,318 to Viesturs et al. discloses an eye pad with two pockets for holding hot or cold water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,247 to Van Cleve discloses a thermal wrap employing heated gel packs which is useful in the treatment of injured joints and/or limbs. Until now, however, there has been no provision for a therapeutic support garment, e.g. a brassiere or bra, employing heated gel packs for treating the discomforts of swelling and tenderness occuring during a women's premenstrual or similar periods.